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Monday, 30 July 2012

Recently the Mumbai police have
been very active in hogging the limelight thanks to it overzealous Social Security
department. The raids on popular nightlife destinations in the city have
resulted in a lot of hue and cry across the media. These raids have found both
support and protest from different sections of the society. A bunch of
Mumbaikars have begun a movement called ‘Mumbai Unite’ to protect the citizens
of this cosmopolitan city. They say it’s not about the protecting the
nightlife, it’s about fighting to protect the fundamental rights of citizens
and protecting them from the khaki clad fanatics.

Mumbai’s image of a cosmopolitan
city has taken a hit thanks to these recent events. All of a sudden the police
department seems to have woken up from its slumber and it started enforcing
laws which are archaic and outdated. The city which is the face of a modern and
resurgent India is governed by laws that date back to the days of British Raj! On
one side we want to build a world class city, like the Dubai’s and Shanghai’s
of world, and on the other side we are still running our city with an old,
crumbling legal system. It’s a tussle between the ones trying to take the city
into the future and those who want to hold on to the old ways. Such thinking is
only dragging the city’s progress and is in a way responsible for the mess the
city finds itself in.

The dreaded act that is being
used to terrorize ordinary citizens is called the ‘Bombay Prohibition Act’. It
is important to understand the provisions of this law to ensure that you don’t
become a victim of it. The law enacted in 1949, says that any person in Mumbai
who wishes to consume alcohol needs to carry a drinking permit. This drinking
permit comes in the form of a Rs.5 one day permit and a Rs.1,000/- lifetime
permit. A license holder is permitted to hold 12 units of alcohol at any time.
Anyone found consuming alcohol without this permit is liable for a fine of Rs. 50,000
or 5 years in Jail or both! The trouble here is not only the law, but the way
it is enforced and the practicalities of enforcing it!

If the objective of this law is
to dissuade the janta from consuming
alcohol, then we are sorry to say that a Rs.1000/- permit is not a big
deterrent for anyone. And how in the world are the police or anybody going to
keep a check on the people consuming alcohol in the safe confines of their
homes? What about visitors, will they be handed over a permit at the airport? In
a corrupt country like ours this is just another, rather powerful, tool in the
hands of those who will go to any lengths to exhort money out of innocent
citizens. And the Mumbai police have been using this tool very effectively to
harass ordinary citizens. If the intention really was to enforce the law then
their targets would not have only been the swanky pubs of Bandra. There are
numerous places where one can consume alcohol and not all of those are in
Bandra!

So how do the people who have
gathered under the banner of ‘Mumbai Unite’ plan to fight for the fundamental
rights of Mumbaikars? Mumbai Unite, a
group formed by concerned Mumbaikars, who have no allegiance to any political
party, believes that if the establishment expects citizens to follow the rules
then they must first educate people about these rules. After all, before these
raids began how many of us were even of such an Act? Raiding places and
harassing common citizens is not the way to ensure that laws are followed. Treating
women with disrespect by calling them ‘Prostitutes’
just because their way of dressing doesn’t fit into your myopic definitions of
culture and tradition, is definitely not the mark of sanity. Doing drugs is definitely
wrong, but criminalizing people for it is not the way to solve this menace. It
is problem which needs to be solved by creating more awareness among the youth.

Mumbai Unite has come out with a
petition asking the establishment to ensure that these raids are stopped and
the perpetrators behind these ghastly acts be brought to justice. It seeks to
invoke the same law that the Social Service Branch of Mumbai Police refers to, ‘The
Bombay Prohibition Act’. Sections of this act clearly specify how the policemen
should behave when conducting searches, and from what we have been hearing
about these raids, the police’s behaviour is in complete violation of the law.
Using these sections of the law, the petition demands action against these so
called moral police. In addition to asking people to sign up the petition,
Mumbai Unite will soon go knocking on the doors of MLA’s and corporator’s
seeking their support for their petition. This move will surely put many a
corporator’s and MLA’s in a fix, as they will have to choose sides now. They
will have to let people know who they support, the citizens of their wards who
voted to bring them to power or the police who have been troubling innocent
citizens.

Mumbaikars, who are part of
Mumbai Unite, do not deny the fact that rules should be followed; in fact they
would be more than happy to follow rules. It is all about how suitable these
rules are to our modern style of living and the way in which the police go
about ensuring the enforcement of laws. There is no hiding from the fact that
these rules are outdated and need an overhaul. And if you want to impose such
rules then why target certain people, why not enforce these laws on everyone.
Why only check cars for permits, why not check the people in the numerous celebrations
that take place on the roads of Mumbai? Mumbai Unite just wants to make the
establishment realize this simple fact. Mumbai Unite is on a mission to reclaim
the city of Mumbai for its citizens and we hope that every Mumbaikar supports
their cause.

Sunday, 22 July 2012

Over the last fifteen years, Malini Agarwal has established
herself as a leader, innovator, and trendsetter in the Indian media and
entertainment industry. Starting as a professional dancer while attending Delhi
University, Malini soon joined MTV India as a Channel Head, where she was
charged with creating engaging television and digital content for a national
audience.

She later joined GO 92.5 FM as a Radio Jockey, and although
private radio in India was still in its infancy, she quickly drew a large and loyal
following. After 8 years in the radio business, where she rose to the position
of Programming Director at 94.3 Radio One, she accepted a role as Head of
Digital Content for Channel [v], where she oversaw all of the channel’s online
content. During this time, Malini founded the pioneering lifestyle and
entertainment blog MissMalini.com, which has quickly established itself as the
leading voice in India’s online lifestyle space. The Huffington Post, the
world’s most popular and authoritative blog, has called Malini Agarwal “without
a doubt, India’s most famous blogger”.

Here are some excerpts from Discovering-Mumbai’s interview
with Malini Agarwal

Malini can you
please shed some light on your personal background?

I’m a bit of a tumble-weed! I was born in Allahabad and
then grew up all over the world (courtesy my dad who was in the Indian Foreign
Service) as a diplobrat in Germany, Somalia, Greece, Lebenon, Ivory Coast and
Bulgaria. After college I was a professional dancer for many years with Ronica
and the Planets in Delhi and then moved to Mumbai where I created the Mid Day
website content framework and eventually moved to MTV India online to run their
romance channel. Eventually I joined Radio and was an RJ for 9 years after
which I moved to Channel [v] to run digital content. That’s when I started my
blog as a hobby and within 6 months realised that is what I want to do full
time!

So how did you get
around to becoming an RJ? When you started off private radio stations were
quite young in India, what changes have you seen in Radio over the years?

I was with MTV at the time and a friend of mine suggested I
go for an audition, since it was close by I went and luckily got offered a spot
right away! I started as an RJ when private radio had just come to India so it
was all very new and exciting. We made a lot of it up as we went along and
really created the first ever commercial radio experience for the Indian ear.
Over the years I’ve seen radio change a lot, sadly because the initial license
fees were very high a lot of stations collapased or switched to Bollywood to
survive. As a result there is very little variety on the air right now and it
seems to have lost a lot of it’s flavor and soul.

What was your first
show? What was it like going on air for the first time? What were the feedback
that you got from people and your close ones?

My first show was the nightshift on WIN 94.6 from 9pm to
midnigh. I used to go do my show live every night after working all day at MTV
but I loved it. I was quite nervous the first time and my hands were shaking!
Over time though it became my favorite moment of the day, when I’d put the
faders up and say hello to my listeners. My friends all listened to me and
were very supportive, it was an even bigger high to know that the ones you love
are listening and I’d always give them a shout out!

Keeping the
listeners engaged for hours must be a tough job? How do you manage it?

The key is really to be yourself and be engaged in what
you’re doing. Don’t fake it because it shows. The best advice I ever got was
imagine that you are speaking to just one person and that creates a bond
between you and every single person who is tuned in. I also loved researching
trivia about the songs I played and coming up with games to play on the air. In
fact I even started a radio network called Going Solo where some of my
listeners and I would actually meet every week and do something fun!

How has your style
evolved over the years?

Over time radio has become second nature to me and I switch
on my “radio voice” pretty easily. My style is peppy, up beat and
conspiritorial. Like I’m telling you something I wouldn’t tell anybody else!

Who are the RJs you
look up to and what do you like about their work?

I look up to a lot of International RJs. I like Ryan Seacrest
and find Shock Jock Howard Stern very entertaining even though he’s almost 100%
talk radio which is very hard to do! I loved listening to Jaggu & Tarana,
Genesia, TMan Nadir, Savio, Glenn… all my old Go 92.5 FM co-stars!

What’s the best
thing about being an RJ?

I guess the best thing about being an RJ is the fact that
you’re creating a live connection over the air with so many people all at once,
and the fact that it’s the theatre of the mind and you can create a magical
world with your words and music that each person experiences in the way they
chose to. (This is why most people picture their favorite RJs as drop dead
gorgeous even if they might not be!)

You have interviewed
a lot of people on air. Tell us some of your best memories from these
interviews?

Some of my favorite memories are from Pirate Radio, which I
started at 94.3 Radio One with Imran Khan, I’d get Bollywood celebrities to
come hang out in the studio with me for a few hours and play any music they
wanted and just chat, no agenda no rules. It was SO much fun and I loved doing
it! I also remember getting super star struck around Abhishek Bachchan once and
asking him if he’s ever been in love!

A lot of people call
up on Radio, have you had some bad experiences with callers on air? How do you
handle such a thing?

Well I had a weird radio stalker for many years who thought
he and I were in a relationship. I had to take him to the police station and
his mom came and slapped him in front of everyone there!

Most of the time though you get to screen your callers so
you know if they’re going to say something crazy you don’t put them on the air.

What talent does one
need to be a good RJ? What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a
RJ?

To be a good RJ you need a great personality more than a
good voice. My best advice to anyone who wants to be an RJ would be to be
yourself, remember to talk to just one person in your head (picture your best
friend is setting opposite you and talk to him/her) and have fun, it’ll show!

You also started a
networking club called Friday Club, can you tell us something about this club?

Yes I started Friday Club 7 years ago and it’s still going
strong. It’s basically a group of fun interesting people from Indian and other
parts of the world who like meeting new people. I’ve always felt that after
school or college people stop trying to make new really close friends but at
Friday Club we’ve forged amazing friendships and even though it’s not a
“singles” club as such several people met their life partners, including
myself!

When did you start
blogging and what was the thought behind starting your own blog?

I started blogging in 2008 as a hobby at a friend’s
suggestion. I did it for fun because I love writing and at the time I had
stopped doing my column in Mid Day for a short while and was missing writing
it. I had no idea at the time that it would soon become my whole world!

How has your blog
evolved over the years?

My blog has evolved into a one stop entertainment
destination for all things Bollywood, Fashion and Lifestyle realted with a desi
girl twist! Now I have a team of writers and photographers who cover events and
write about everything relevant to my audience. So it’s more of a proper online
brand now from the single person’s musings it used to be.

You also write
gossip column in newspaper. How different it is from writing a blog? What
things do you consider when writing for a newspaper?

Newspaper columns are less interactive but there is a charm
to print writing that will last forever feel. My column in Mid Day is usually
about upcoming celebrity events and hot happenings whereas the blog takes you
inside those parties and events and gives you a fly-on-the-wall perspective!

So what next for
Miss Malini?

Like I always say to my team, it’s to the moon!
MissMalini is definitely going places so stay tuned

Tuesday, 17 July 2012

This is the story of how one
foreign national fell in love with the rich history, culture and traditions of
our country that she could never go back to her homeland. This is about her
journey across India, discovering the diversity and exploring the numerous treasures that India has to offer. From
the banks of the Ganges in North India to the majestic temples of South India,
she has travelled and seen more of India than most Indians themselves! Along
the journey she made many friends, found the love of her life and rediscovered
herself. India left such a mark on her heart and soul that she could never
return back to her country. Discovering Mumbai brings to you the story of
Sharell Cook. Sharell writes and manages About.com India travel page, she is
settled in Mumbai with her Indian husband.

Sharell grew up in a middle class
family in rural Australia. Like most Australian teens she worked at a
supermarket to help herself financially. Her family lived on a five acre plot
which was full of animals like cats, dogs, ducks, geese and goats; she even had
an aviary full of birds. A typical Australian family, they enjoyed pool parties
and barbeque in summers and went skiing in winters. Sharell spent the first 21
years in her hometown before she moved to Melbourne for her job. She graduated
in Business and got an accounting job in Melbourne. However, she never really
enjoyed her job much, apart from the report writing part of it. Her travels to
India inspired her write about India. She started submitting these articles to
an article library website. One fine day she received a call from a stranger,
who liked her articles, about a vacancy at About.com. They were looking for someone
to write and manage their India travel website. After a few gruelling tests she
was hired!

Her first encounter with India
happened in the year 2000. While returning to Australia, from her first
overseas trip, she did a stopover in Bangkok where she realized that eastern
countries were much more fascinating than west. Even some of her friends were
raving about their experiences in India. Finally she got brave and decided to
travel to India. The decision was not easy for her. She was daunted by the thought
of visiting India, having heard so many stories about people getting sick,
getting robbed and whole lot of other such stories. Like many foreigners her
perception about India was also the ‘land of snake charmers’. Sharell spent
hours on research trying to make sure that nothing would go wrong on her maiden
voyage to India. On her first trip she travelled through the northern parts of India
– Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Rajasthan. The depth of the
culture, the history and architecture of the country left her astonished.

An obsession for India was born
out of this first trip, she couldn’t stay away as there was so much more to
explore and experience. Two years later she returned to spend some more time. Her
second trip would be through South India. This was followed by another trip
three years later but this time her reasons to travel were a lot different. Her
life was going through a rough patch; she decided to come down to India to do
some community work to take her mind off the things troubling her. Also she
wanted to get herself out of her comfort zone, become more independent and
assertive and she felt that India was the perfect place for this. While in
India, an Australian friend offered her to take care of her guesthouse in
Kerala for the tourist season, this made her stay back in India. It was also
during this journey that she unexpectedly fell in love!

She has a lot of great memories
to share from her trips like the wacky camel fair at Pushkar, spending time on
houseboats in Kerala’s enchanting backwaters, driving a rickshaw from Chennai
to Mumbai as part of a charity event, a village to village yak safari in high
altitude Spiti and having dinner with the Maharaja of Udaipur at his palace! However,
her most meaningful experience has been attending the Ganga Aarti at Haridwar,
it was a very strong spiritual experience for her; something which she had
never experienced before. India has played a major role in redefining Sharell,
it has made her more flexible, spontaneous and assertive.

India, is the place where she
finally found her true love, they decided to get married and are now settled in
the city of Mumbai. They met in Kolkata, she asked him to accompany her to the
guesthouse in Kerala which she was managing and after that they did some more
travelling. They fell in love and finally they got married, but only after the
entire horoscope matching was done and his parent’s approval was obtained!
Coming from a small village in Australia she finds life in Mumbai too intense!
Initially she saw Mumbai as an Indian city trying to be western. But over time
she has fallen in love with the city. She loves the cosmopolitan nature of
Mumbai and also the fact that it is the safest city in India for women. She
finds peace in the beaches of Mumbai. Sharell also loves the Ganesh festival’s
grandeur. What she does not like about the city is the poor and shabby state of
its infrastructure. Also she feels that the city’s nightlife is being threatened
by fanatical policing. She also dreads the city’s traffic and feels that it
takes too long to get anywhere!

Sharell writes a blog titled –
‘Diary of a white Indian housewife’. When she was deciding on moving to
India, she scoured the net looking for blogs by people who were in a similar
situation as hers. She didn’t find many such blogs and so she thought that she
should start her own blog to share her experiences with others. Lot of people
ask Sharell about moving to India, about her experiences. She believes that anyone
who has a genuine interest in India will surely enjoy their time here as India
has so many things to teach you. “India can be challenging, but if you have a
greater sense of purpose here, then challenges matter less”, says Sharell. She
also advises people not to replicate their western standard of living in India.
“Anyone moving to India must be ready to make a lot of adjustments”, she
believes. For Sharell the journey has been an enriching experience. From
travelling India to writing about India, finding the love of her life and
getting married, India has given lots of good memories to cherish. And she too
has very kind words for the country that has given her so much. “To sum it all
in one line – India is a remarkable teacher!”

Friday, 13 July 2012

The dawn of computers has rapidly
transformed our lives in the last two decades. Things which we can do today
were only dreams a decade ago. Remember the first time you used a computer? How
excited you were to lay your hands on this machine and if you were a kid then
you definitely must have spent hours on a painting application colouring a
digital canvas with lots of colour and creativity!

Fast forward to 2012 and the
humble paint app has been overtaken by serious, technological marvels like
Adobe Photoshop, Corel and a host of other applications. These mean machines
and software’s have spawned a new generation of artists, armed with a tablet
computer and an electronic paintbrush; these artists are charting into new
worlds through their work and in the process have created a new form of art –
the digital art. Discovering-Mumbai (DM) came across one such upcoming,
extremely promising, unbelivably talented artist - Vasundhara Prakash.

Vasundhara who is a script writer
by profession and is currently working on a movie which is supposed to go into
production by end of this year, did not start off wanting to be an artist. She
is also working on two more scripts. Vasundhara did her Bachelors in Philosophy
from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and Masters in Arts and Aesthetics from
JNU, Delhi. With her thirst for knowledge not satiated she set sail for the
distant land of America for her PHD in communication at the University of
California, San Diego. However, things didn’t turn out the way she wanted and she came back to India. It was at this point of time that the lure of Bollywood
started to beckon her and she decided to pursue a career in Bollywood.

Vasundhara's manipulation of her own picture

Her first assignment in Bollywood
was working as the Assistant Director on a film; she also worked on an
Indo-French documentary ‘India by Song’ which was aired on TV and also went to
Cannes. Later she went into advertising, again as a Director’s Assistant, but
she didn’t really enjoy the stressful world of advertising. This is the time
when she started writing movie scripts. So how did Vasundhara, the script
writer, become Vasundhara the artist? It happened two years ago when she was
pondering over a very peculiar issue; the question was how to make her Facebook
profile pic stand out. This led her down a path which resulted in her discovery
of softwares like Dotmatrix, Pixelmator and Photoshop. Initially she was a bit
intimidated by these softwares but she quickly worked her way around them and
started churning out some great pictures. She started out working on her own
pictures and later she also tried her hand at manipulating pictures of her
friends. When her friends saw her work they were amazed and started using her works as their profile pictures on Facebook. Soon what had started out as a pastime
started to develop into a passion. Her initial attempts were simple manipulations of
photographs. Later she started adding different elements along with the photos
and her distinctive style started to develop.

One of her works, displayed at The Bagel Shop, Bandra

Vasundhara’s digital artworks are
a blend of photographs and drawings, and a host of other elements. She mixes these
elements elegantly to create stunning visuals. Her works are peppered with lots
of bright colours. A female subject is central to almost all of her paintings.
When asked to explain one of her works she replied, “My paintings are very instinctive, I do not think about a particular
theme when I draw. I don’t even label my works as it makes them very
restrictive and makes people think about the work in a particular way”. Vasundhara
has made almost 160 pieces of digital paintings so far, out of which she is
displaying 15 at her first solo exhibition at ‘The Bagel Shop’ in Bandra. The
exhibition runs till July 15th. She is visibly excited about her exhibition,
because when she started out, the thought that one day she would be exhibiting
her work to the public never crossed her mind. A lot of her excitement also
stems from the positive response that she has been receiving from people. So
far she has been successful in selling eight of her fifteen works and a lot of
requests for reprints of these sold works. A lot of people have told her that
her works are actually underpriced!

Friends and family were the ones
who motivated her in going public, they also happen to be the ones who
constantly give her the feedback she needs. Her brother, in particular, is one
of her biggest critic. The first time she displayed her work was at a fair at
Mocha Mojo, Bandra. She had displayed three of her works at Mocha Mojo
alongside a host of other artists. One of her works has been used as the cover
of a book and she has also designed one specifically for a book. Post her solo
exhibition she has got an offer from a lady in Denmark who organizes online art
exhibitions. She is also looking for other venues in Mumbai to display her
works but she admits that she would not really like her work to be put up in
some art gallery. As an arts student she knows that it can get very
intimidating for people to go to a gallery. She is grateful to 'The Bagel Shop' for
providing her the opportunity to display her works with such openness and
warmth.There are very few genuine places
in Mumbai, like 'The Bagel Shop', which provide a platform to upcoming artists
for presenting their work

The artist, who was never really interested on a real paintbrush and canvas, says that in India digital art is not
given its due credit. A lot of people still don’t take it as a serious form of
art. People do not understand the time, creativity and hardwork that goes into making a
digital painting. But such perceptions are not going to let her down, for sure. Post her successful exhibition, her confidence
is sky high and all that she is thinking about is taking her passion for
painting to the next level. Vasundhara wants to continue doing both scripts and
digital paintings, she really can’t choose between the two. With her movie
ready to go into production we understand the excitement that she is going
through. Her successful exhibition must have taken that excitement to cloud
nine levels. We wish her all the best for her movie project and hope to see
more of her works soon.

Recently while scouting the net we came across a weirdly named blog called – ‘Fukkat Gyan’ which intrigued and impressed
us a lot. It is wacky blog which makes fun of journalists through cartoons
which talk about the happenings in their daily lives. Well, it’s a great
insight into the exciting work life of journalists. We were impressed by their idea and their
cartoons and we decided to get in touch with these guys. Here is our chat with
the founders of ‘Fukkat Gyan’. To
check out their hilarious cartoons just click here – Fukkat Gyan. Subscribe to them and get your dose of gyan absolutely
fukkat! We’re sure you will love them!

Hello guys,
tell us something about your personal and professional background?

We’re journalists. Our favourite colours are cyan
and cerulean. Our star signs are Libra and Scorpio. And our political views are
ultra left of left of centre.

Can you tell us something about the
world of journalism? What is a typical journos day like?

A typical day at work involves getting to office at
noon, having lunch, having a digestive chai, chatting, making some calls if we
feel like it, chatting, having coffee, having an evening snack, chatting,
occasionally writing, chatting, rounding off the day with chai.

So how did the idea of Fukkat Gyan
strike you guys?

We were snacking on Mentos one day and as the ad
claims, lightbulbs flashed inside our heads.

Why the name Fukkat Gyan?

Because we’re dispensing our gyan for free.

When did you
decide to go online with it?

We started the blog on May 26, 2010. Took a long
break and resumed earlier this year.

What are the cartoons about and do you have
prior experience in cartoons?

The cartoons make fun of journalists and the
goings-on in the newsroom. We were cartoon novices when we started.

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Ever heard the story of the man
who gave up a well earning job at a global corporate to go roaming around the
world! Crazy? No! The man is on a journey of self-discovery. Away from the
machinations of the modern life that person is trying to find the reason for
his existence, the answer that will make the purpose of their life clear. And
when they find that answer, it changes their life forever! Discovering-Mumbai
(DM) met one such interesting individual who travelled across the world in
search of his true calling! Did he find it? Yes, he did! His name – Hersh Kumbhani and he is the co-founder of Trabblr a truly innovative company that
lets you explore your city in a unique social way!

Trabblr co-founder Hersh at the Koli Seafood Festival in Versova

Hersh moved to India at the age
of 13 after having lived in USA and Dubai. He went to Mahindra United World
College of India (MUWCI) post which he went to Cornell University for a degree
in Applied Economics and Management. With a keen interest in finance, he
thought that a career in Investment banking was the best choice for him. He
worked as an I-banker for almost four years before he finally decided to hang
up his boots and go travel the world! Ashish, his business partner and
co-founder grew up in Mumbai. The two met at MUWCI. Ashish has done his MSc in
Advanced Computing from King’s College, London. Having worked for over a year
as a software engineer for a financial analysis company he soon realized that
entrepreneurship was his destiny. He started a bill and expense sharing web-app
called WeSplit, post which he helped Hersh set up Trabblr.

Trabblr co-founder Ashish

“Trabblr was created with one goal in mind, to help people discover
unique experiences around the world while building new relationships with real
people”, says Hersh. Both the guys believe that even though we live in a
world defined by online social networks, all the ‘likes’ and ‘tweets’ cannot
replace the fun of tangible things like meeting new people and sharing some
good moments. Trabblr is for people who are bored of going to the same place
with the same people. It offers them an opportunity to try out new things,
discover their city in an entirely new way and with new people. It makes the
idea of trying out new things a little less intimidating. For travellers it
offers a means to make their trips more meaningful and immersive. They can meet
other travellers or engage with locals which will give them an altogether
different experience, helping them understand the local culture better. We
think this is a revolutionary idea! All you have to do is log on to Trabblr
create an event or just join those created by other users to go meet new people
and try out things you’ve never done before.

Trabblr was born out of the
experiences Hersh had during his days of globe-trotting. While travelling
around the Balkans in 2010, Hersh, who had by then travelled extensively
through South East Asia and Western Europe, realized that visiting the main
sites and dining in famous restaurants simply did not excite him anymore. He
wanted a deeper experience, he wanted to explore the places in a different and
more engaging manner; and that he knew could not be done through any guide
book. The only way to get such an experience was to interact with locals. But
how does one find such people who are ready to meet strangers and show them
their city and culture? Hours of internet search resulted in futility. He could
not find any existing platform which fit the bill perfectly. “That’s why Ashish and I built Trabblr - to
help bring people together to explore cities around the world in a way that is
transparent, safe and fun”, says Hersh.

Armed with the idea Hersh went
about setting up Trabblr. His biggest challenge – he didn’t have the necessary
skill sets to design a platform like Trabblr. This is where Ashish with his
software engineering skills helped out Hersh. The fact that Ashish was as
excited about Trabblr as Hersh went a long way in helping to bring Trabblr up
and running! The guys were equally excited and nervous the first day when
Trabblr went live. How would people react to it? Will they even use it? These
and many more questions haunted both of them as they eagerly waited for the
first feedbacks. The first event on Trabblr was when a large group, including
Hersh, went to the Koli Seafood Festival in Versova in January. Initially the
guys used their friends to generate some traction but soon Trabblr started
receiving a lot of users who were seeking new experiences and looking to meet
new people. Today Trabblr is a growing community with lot of requests coming in
for starting Trabblr in other cities too. “We’ve
been lucky to have users who continually give us feedback.That means that we’re doing something right
because it shows that people care enough to take time out of their day to
contact us to share their ideas and suggestions” says Hersh.

Pics from Trabblr events

For Hersh, the journey has all
been about following his passion. Giving up a well-paid job in an investment
bank is certainly not an easy decision. “I
didn’t really have a plan for what I wanted to do next.All I knew was that I wanted to get out and
see the world”. For Hersh the logic was clear and simple, he was sure that
travelling around the globe will give him more clarity about what he wanted out
of life both personally and professionally. He travelled to some well-known
tourist trails like Spain and France; he also went on the less travelled path
to countries like Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia. All of these places have
had a significant impact on his life. The best part was that his notion that
travel would give him more clarity in life turned out to be true and his
backpacking finally led him to setup Trabblr! That journey came to an end with
Trabblr, but now a new journey has begun for Hersh. His sight is set on
achieving great heights with Trabblr and we would like to wish him all the best
for all his future endeavours!

You can check out their website and all the events that are available for you to join at - Trabblr.com

Saturday, 7 July 2012

Mumbai, the vibrant and dynamic
city, renowned for its art-deco style of architecture and the grandeur of the
Gothic and Victorian structures built during the time of the British.
Born out of colonial era, the southern part of the city also popularly called
the ‘Town’; harbours some very old and astonishing pieces of architecture. The
old city holds within itself so much of history which todays common Mumbaikar
is totally unaware of. In today’s modern life, Mumbaikars preoccupied with their
daily routines are losing touch with the city’s rich past. Well, the good news
is that there is one organization which is trying to change this; it’s called
‘Raconteur Walks’ and it is trying to make Mumbaikars understand their hometown
better by walking them through its history.

Born out of a need for better
tourism infrastructure, ‘Raconteur Walks’ (RW) is a theme based walking tour
company that aims to provide a professional touring solution for both tourists
and locals. Their aim is to take tourists and locals on a journey to uncover
the hidden secrets of Mumbai. Their tagline says it all, ‘Live the city’!

The famous Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai

Viraat Kasliwal, the founder of
RW, is only 24 years old. He was born in a family of entrepreneurs; in fact he
is the fifth generation entrepreneur in his family! A graduate from HR College,
he was born and raised in South Mumbai. Growing up among the beautiful
buildings of town, he developed a attraction towards Mumbai’s history.
The architecture of certain buildings like the University campus and the Town
Hall captivated him since his early days. Viraat is a true blue Mumbaikar who
deeply loves the history of his hometown. It is this love for the city that
makes him the apt person to run a tour company that enlightens people about
Mumbai’s past. “This city means the
world to me and nothing would want to make me leave it.It’s always been home for me and there’s a
warmth that emanates out of this city and her people that makes everyone always
feel like they’re at home”, says Viraat.

The idea to start RW struck
Viraat after a few trips to the US and Switzerland made him realize that India
is actually a treasure chest of history, but due to the poor tourism
infrastructure India was not a big tourist destination globally. He saw an
obvious lack of good quality tourism options in India and thus RW was born to
fill this gap. He says a lot of tourists come to Mumbai after hearing stories
about the grandeur of India, but due to the poor tourism facilities many of them
return disappointed! Through RW he set out to change this major lacuna.

Having an idea is one thing, but
starting up a company is a different ball game altogether and Viraat too went
through those tough early days that all entrepreneurs have to go through. The
first thing he did was to meticulously research about the city’s history. He
started out his research in September 2009 and it lasted almost till December
2010. During this time he researched 40 books, 55 magazines and periodicals and
countless websites. His vision was clear, to start a good quality touring
company he would need at least 100 times more knowledge than what a guide book
like lonely planet can provide! His
family was always there to support him both emotionally and financially. He
would turn to his father when in need of some financial advice and his mother
always stood behind him like a rock. His biggest challenge however, has been
the perception that people in India hold about tourism companies. People failed
to understand the difference between RW and any other local guide at the ‘Gateway of India’. Changing this
perception has been one his biggest challenges.

A walking tour at the Flora Fountain

As of now RW organizes three
walks based on history theme, all of which are conducted in the Fort region of
South Mumbai. A walk is about 2.5 Kms and lasts about 3 hours. A walking group
consists on no more than 10 people. Viraat is very cautious when it comes to
hiring his guides. The parameters which are of paramount importance for a person
to become a guide at RW are command over English, charisma, extrovertness and
self-confidence. He tries to keep his team youthful, in fact at 24 he is the
oldest member of his team! Most of the guides are young college students who
are either pursuing education or have just passed out. He also looks out for
part time actors from English theatre. “Language and formality will never be a
problem if you walk with us”, says Viraat. Walking groups are not allowed to be
larger than 10, so that the guide can give personal attention to each tourist.
The company strives to ensure that it’s not just about walking, it is about
creating an experience for your customers, and it is about making people really
live the city!

Viraat enlightened us with some
really interesting facts about the city’s history. The name Bombay was derived
from Bom Bahia (The good bay), a name
given by Portuguese sailor Francis Almeida in 1508. Neither the Portuguese nor
the local rulers had any major interest in the area which is today know as
South Mumbai. It was only the British who realized the importance of Mumbai Harbour
and began developing the Bombay island. Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling who
wrote Kim and The Jungle Book was born in Mumbai. Such pieces of info assured
us as to how little the average Mumbaikar is aware about the history of the
city he calls home!

The next step for RW is to
increase the number of walks it organizes from 3 to 15 and also add newer
themes to the walks. The bigger aim, however, is to take the company pan India.
Viraat wants RW to become a household name in tours. He wants to provide people
across India an honest, professional and organized touring option. “Thequality of our walk and the smiles on our guest’s
faces are what is most important to us”, says a candid Viraat. Given
his dedication to his work and his passion Discovering-Mumbai believes that RW
will surely achieve the goals that it has set for itself. We are all praise of
our true blue Mumbaikar Viraat Kasliwal and we wish him all the very best on
his future endeavours. May you keep enlightening the people of Mumbai about
their history!